Poultry scald tank



Dec- 20, H. O G

POULTRY. SCALD TANK Origihal Filed Aug. 1, 1950 16 INVENTUR HARE d.LON6

ATTORNEY United States M f POULTRY SCALD TANK Harry J. Long, Chicago,Ill., assignmto Swift & Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation ofIllinois Original application August 1, 1950, Serial No. 176,994, nowPatent No. 2,667,661, dated February 2, 1954. Divided and thisapplication November 10, 1953, Serial No. 391,333

4 Claims. (Cl. 1711.2)

The present invention relates to an apparatus for facilitating thedefeathering of fowl.

It has long been the practice to scald poultry by dipping the birds inhot water before attempting to pick the feathers therefrom. Incommercial operations, this is commonly performed by attaching a clampto the legs of the birds and moving the clamp and bird supported therebyalong a given path by means of an overhead conveyor, which pathintersects a scalding tank through which the birds are dragged. Thelength of time that the bird remains in the scalding tank is determinedby the speed of the conveyor. The amount of scalding (controlled throughthe scalding temperature and immersion time) is at best a compromise.The more the birds are scaldcd, the more easily may the feathers beremoved therefrom. However, if the birds are scalded for too long aperiod, the rubber fingers of the mechanical pickers used in thedefeathering will bark or otherwise spoil the appearance of the skin andresult in a less saleable product.

When sufiiciently reduced scalding times are used to eliminate thebarking problem, the feathers about the legs of the birds, particularlythose in what is referred to as the garter area, become dilrlcult toremove. This results in the necessary expenditure of additional time andlabor in removing the feathers from these portions of the birds. Thepresent apparatus has for its principal object the scalding of the legsof the birds at a higher temperature than the bodies of the birds todecrease the difiiculty involved in picking the feathers from the legs.A particular feature of this invention is that the dual scalding mayoccur simultaneously and the legs will be scalded at a highertemperature than that to which the body is subjected.

This is achieved by applying a steam and water mixture to the legs insuch a manner that it is tempered before reaching the bodies of thebirds. In the instant apparatus the bodies are immersed in a fluid of alower temperature than that of the aforesaid mixture which is applied tothe legs.- Such immersion acts as a blanket in protecting the bodiesfrom that mixture. This feature of the present invention permits theselective scalding of the various portions of the birds so that thefeathers all may be easily removed by mechanical pickers while, at thesame time, no parts are overscalded to an extent which would result inbarking of the birds during the mechanical picking.

An additional advantage of the present invention is that it may bereadily applied to the more common types of existing installationswithout any expensive alterations therein. Not only is the cost of themodernization a small matter, but the substantial investment in thepresent scalding equipment and associated mechanism is not lost.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a poultry scalding tank embodying myinvention; and

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the scald tank of Fig. 1.

2,727,273 Patented Dec. 20, 1955 The birds 10 which are to be scaldedand picked are carried along the processing line by means of an overheadconveyor, generally 11. Clamps or holders 12 are attached to the legs ofthe birds, and the holders and birds are supported from the conveyor 11by means of a chain 13. A scalding tank, generally 15, is positioned tointersect the path of movement of the birds along the processing line.The tank is adapted to hold the hot water used in the scalding of thebodies of the birds.

As seen particularly in Fig. 2, the tank includes an inner and outerchamber 16 and 17 respectively. A pump 18 driven by a motor 19 draws thewater from inner chamber 16 through an opening in the bottom thereof anddischarges the water into the outer chamber 17. The force of the pumpdrives the water drawn from the inner chamber up along the walls formingthe sides of the outer chamber, and the water flows down over the top ofplates or shelves 21 which project inwardly adjacent the top of thetank.

A drain 22 covered by a screen 23 is used to continuously Withdraw aportion of the water from the tank. Suitable feed means (not shown) maybe used to replenish the water in the tank and to maintain it atapproximately the level of plates 21.

Along the inwardly-projecting edge of plates 21 are a plurality of steamjets 25, which, in the illustrated embodiment, take the form ofone-sixteenth inch holes in a one inch pipe 26, the holes being spacedapproximately one inch apart. The holes are positioned in the pipe so asto direct the steam into the tank at a downwardlyprojecting angle.

Pipes 26 are connected to a suitable source of steam supply throughpipes 27. A hand-control valve 28 is included in line 27 to normallyregulate the flow of the steam as desired. A thermostatically-regulatedcontrol valve 29 is also included in line 27 with a thermo-responsive'element 30 being positioned in the water in chamber 16 adjacent pump 18.In a manner well known in the art, the thermo-responsive element 30actuates a valve operator 31 to control the setting of valve 29.

The rush of water down over the top of plates 21 from chamber 17produces a concavity in the water in chamber 16 adjacent the legs 33 ofbirds 10. At the same time this flow of water blankets the steam issuingfrom jets 25 in pipe 26, mixes with the steam, and tempers the actionthereof. This mixture of steam and Water splashes over the legs of thebirds, and inasmuch as the mixture is at a higher temperature than thewater due to the influx of the steam, the legs receive a highertemperature scald than do the bodies of the birds which are immersed inthe water in the tank. The turbulence of the inflow of water and mixedsteam, coupled with the fact that it is driven into the water alreadyexisting in chamber 16, rapidly takes the heat out of the steam andtempers it so that as it reaches the bodies of the birds it is littlewarmer than the general temperature of the water within chamber 16. Asit will be seen, the Water within chamber 16 acts as a butfer to protectthe bodies of the birds 10 against the eifect of the steam issuing fromjets 25.

Thermostatically-regulated valve 29 maintains a given relationshipbetween the steam issuing from the jets and the temperature of the waterin the tank. As the temperature of the water in the tank drops, theamount of steam issuing is increased so that the leg areas (which aredifiicult to pick) are given a slightly extra dose of concentrated heatto make up for that which was not received from the water in the tankgenerally, and this extra steam also gradually brings the temperature ofthe water in the tank up to the desired operating point.

If the temperature in the water increases above the optimum temperature,there is less need for extra scalding of the legs and the steam flow isreduced. The reduction in the flow of the steam in this period of timeadds less heat to the water, bringing the temperature of the water tothe desired operating point. Under certain conditions it may be desiredto eliminate this thermostatic control and, in such cases, mechanicalvalve 28. may be usedto adjust the flow of steam into the tank.Afterscalding, the birds may be picked by means of a mechanical picker,as for example that described in U. S. Patent No. 2,469,953, issued May10, 1949. g

The foregoing description of a specific embodiment is for the purpose ofcomplying with 35 U. S. C. 112, and should not be construed as imposingany unnecessary limitations on the appended claims. Variousmodifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

The present application is a division of my prior application No.176,994, filed August 1, 1950, now Patent No. 2,667,661, issued February2, 1954.

I claim:

1. A device for scalding poultry preparatory to pick ing the featherstherefrom, said device including a fluid container adapted to hold aheated fluid heavier than air, conveyor means having a portion thereofpositioned above said container to move poultry hanging by the legsthrough said container with their bodies immersed in the fluid, andspray means operatively associated with said container and locatedsubstantially at the surface of the fluid to project a mixture of saidfluid and a higher temperature fluid onto the legs of said birds whilethey are in said container.

2. A device for scalding poultry preparatory to picking the featherstherefrom, said device including a fluid container adapted to hold aheated fluid heavier than air, conveyor means having a portion thereofpositioned above said container and adapted to move poultry hanging bythe legs through said container, a plurality of steam jets, and liquidmixing means to blanket each of said jets with a flow of said liquid,said jets and said mixing means being operatively associated with saidcontainer and adapted to project said steam blanketed with said liquidonto the legs of said poultry while they are in said container.

3. A device for scalding poultry preparatory to picking the featherstherefrom, a water tank to hold heated water for scalding said poultry,a shelf adjacent each side of the top of the tank, the inner edges ofeach of said shelves being within the sides of the tank and spaced fromeach other, circulating means communicating with the tank to pump waterfrom said tank and to discharge thatwater onto the said shelves fromwhere it can flow into said tank, a plurality of steam jets along theinner edge of each of said shelves, said jets being directed inwardlyand being below the upper face of said shelves whereby the water flowinginto the tank from the shelf will mix with the steam from said jets, andconveyor means having at least a portion thereof mounted above saidcontainer and adapted to move poultry hanging by the legs through saidcontainer at a level at which the bodies of said poultry will be belowthe normal water level of the tank and the legs of said poultry will begenerally between said jets.

4. A device for scalding poultry preparatory to picking the featherstherefrom, said device including a fluid container adapted to hold aheated fluid heavier than air, conveyor means having a portion thereofpositioned above said container and adapted to move poultry hanging bythe legs through said container, a plurality of steam jets, liquidmixing means to blanket each of said jets with a flow of said liquid,said jets and said mixing means being operatively associated with saidcontainer and adapted to project said steam blanketed with said liquidonto the legs of said poultry while they are in said container, andthermostatically actuated steam control means connected to said steamjets and operatively associated with said container to control theamount of steam in inverse relationship to the temperature of the liquidin said container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,672,555 Barker et al. June 5, 1928 1,932,827 Morris et a1. Oct. 31,1933 2,602,186 Johnson July 8, 1952 2,649,615 Sharp Aug. 25, 1953

